


Cool Digs

by Ysabetwordsmith



Series: Love Is For Children [60]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Internalized racism, Moving In Together, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:26:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27846818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ysabetwordsmith/pseuds/Ysabetwordsmith
Summary: Loki has some unusual needs for workspace in Avengers Tower.
Relationships: Jarvis (Iron Man movies) & Loki, Loki & Avengers Team, Loki & Tony Stark
Series: Love Is For Children [60]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/42722
Comments: 37
Kudos: 196





	Cool Digs

**Author's Note:**

> This is the freebie for the [December 1, 2020 Poetry Fishbowl](https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/12754935.html). It was inspired by Dreamwidth user Mylittleangel and LiveJournal user Rix_scaedu. It also fills the "Iceman" square in [my 12-1-20 card](https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/12754546.html) for the Winter Fest Bingo. This poem belongs to the series [Love Is For Children](https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/9744636.html).

Loki found Avengers Tower  
intriguing, even though it  
was full of Avengers.

His Hawk and the Spider  
shared their quarters, which  
were taller than any others  
to give them room to climb.

So too, the Man Out of Time  
and his brother Winter had  
their own quarters, filled with  
relics of the past and present.

The Doctor and his Monster  
had _separate_ quarters,  
despite sharing a body.

Delicious irony, which  
even Loki could appreciate.

Their mate, the formidable Dr. Ross,  
went between their two places  
precisely as she pleased, like a cat.

Thor of course had his Lady Jane  
with him, along with Darcy who  
seemed to fall somewhere  
between servant and Valkyrie.

Anthony had by far the most space --  
it had after all been his Tower before  
he shared it with the team -- though  
the Doctor shared the lab areas.

The Son of Coul had quarters of  
his own, done in quiet form.

As for his part, Loki  
made himself scarce  
as much as possible, in  
the interest of not getting  
flogged into the floor again.

Alas, it was not so simple.

"Hey Lolo, you give any thought  
to where you want to live?"  
Anthony said, hopping up  
onto the kitchen counter.  
"Cause I'm guessing that's  
_not_ with Thor and company."

Did he know that _lolo_ meant  
'fool' in a quaint island tongue?

Yes, quite probably he did.

"I do well enough where  
I am," Loki said shortly.

"Yeah, no, I'm not buying it,"  
Anthony said. "Everybody  
needs their own space,  
and you, my enemy,  
are _not_ an extrovert."

Loki sighed. "If you truly  
wish to offer me a boon,  
I need a place to work  
more than one to sleep."

"You mean a lab, craft room,  
or something else?" Anthony said.

"A bit of both," Loki said. "I only  
need the space. I can stock it  
and ward it myself. Though I'm  
not sure how to make a cool room  
with available supplies. I'll need  
a place to relax after hard work."

"Cool like air conditioning or  
cool like a freezer?" Anthony said.  
"Cause I know about the whole --"  
He wiggled a hand. "Frost Giant thing."

Loki resisted the urge to hunch. He  
would not cower before this mortal.

He also had no idea how to convert  
the figures he knew into local measures.

His Starkphone hummed in his pocket.  
JARVIS was the most delightfully subtle  
invisible servant that Loki had ever known.

Taking out the phone, Loki found that it had ...  
some sort of arcane calculation program  
already displayed on the screen. He  
worked out how to feed it information  
and then extract a translation.

"These are acceptable ranges,"  
he said, turning the phone around.

"Oh yeah, no prob," said Anthony.  
"Commercial freezers can do that."

"Excellent," said Loki. "Then I  
would like that, and enough room  
to set up some workspace."

"So you're like Iceman, huh?"  
Anthony said, idly kicking his heels  
against the kitchen cabinet. "Heat  
makes you tired, cold gives you energy."

"Simplistic, but close enough," Loki said.  
"May I have the freezer I requested?"

"Sure. Knock yourself out," Tony said.  
"Genius _billionaire_ playboy philanthropist.  
Get one big enough for an apartment, even.  
JARVIS, get us some numbers on size."

"Walk-in freezers are available in  
a wide range of sizes," JARVIS said.  
"Studio apartments begin around  
200 square feet and average 500.  
1-bedroom apartments begin  
around 600 and average 675."

"Yeah, at those sizes we'll need  
to assemble on site," Anthony said.  
"Ask JARVIS for technical specs,  
he knows what's safe here or not.  
Ping me if you need something  
that's not on the market and  
I'll built whatever you need."

He hopped down from the counter  
and bounded out the door without  
telling Loki what he _couldn't_ do.

"Shall we discuss your needs  
regarding a floor plan for work  
and leisure space?" said JARVIS.  
"Then I can inform you as to where  
in the Tower that would best fit."

"Yes, please," said Loki, and  
a glowing frame appeared in  
the air for him to manipulate.

It was so nearly like Asgard  
that he almost felt homesick,  
except that nobody was mocking  
him here and he found that he  
preferred it considerably.

Soon they had agreed upon  
a heavily shielded work room,  
a craft room, a supply room,  
and a modest apartment.

"There are three locations  
currently available that fit  
the stipulated parameters,"  
JARVIS said. "One among  
the labs, one among offices,  
and one in the basement."

"Recommendations?"  
Loki said. He was  
coming to depend on  
the servant's wisdom.

"Either the lab area for  
company and supplies,  
or the basement for  
the added security,"  
said JARVIS. "I note  
that Dr. Banner works in  
the lab area, and Hulk has  
an apartment in the basement."

"The office area is not preferred  
because ...?" Loki wondered.

"It is acceptable but it lacks  
some protections that the others  
would offer," JARVIS replied.

Loki hesitated. He _really_  
did not want to face  
the Monster again.

On the other hand,  
the basement would  
make it possible for him  
to root the wards directly  
into the bedrock below.

"Very well. The basement  
it shall be," Loki decided.

"I have reserved the space  
in the Tower directory. You  
may set privacy as desired.  
I have ordered a freezer and  
other necessities," JARVIS said.  
"Estimated time to completion:  
seven business days."

"Thank you," Loki said.

Then he went back to  
his bedroom on Thor's floor  
to start his magical preparations.

It took two weeks for the workmen  
to install everything and then for Loki  
to complete warding the space.

Anthony strolled in without knocking  
just as Loki was arranging the furniture  
in his delightfully icy apartment.

"Cool digs," Anthony said. "Love  
what you've done with the place."

Loki backed away from the painting  
that Steven had given him. It was  
entitled _Polar Bear in a Snowstorm_  
and little could be seen of the beast  
but for black nose and eyes and  
a faint suggestion of deadly claws.

Loki loved the thing because it  
reminded him of Jotunheim's  
bracing weather without aping  
the execrable Jotunn aesthetics.

He had not thought anyone else  
would ever see it, and now  
Anthony had barged right in.

"You think so?" Loki challenged.

"Totally," Anthony said without  
a hint of prevarication. "It's so _you."_

Loki glanced around the apartment.  
The walls were icy white, the floor  
matted with spongy stuff swirled  
in deep shades of blue and green.

Crystal clusters of blue quartz  
and rare green garnet twinkled  
here and there on the shelves.

The furniture was spare and elegant,  
padded with cushions that looked like  
rich brocade but were, JARVIS had  
assured him, made of tough fabric  
that could withstand winter weather.

"I suppose it is," Loki said.  
"Thank you for the opportunity."

"Any time," Anthony said. "Why  
don't you come up some time and  
see me? We'll do science to things."

Loki chuckled. "I shall give it  
due consideration," he said.

It might be peculiar living space,  
but for the first time in his long life,

Loki actually felt _at home_.

**Author's Note:**

>  _Lolo_ means "fool" in Hawaiian.
> 
> A studio apartment typically starts at [200 square feet, with an average of 500 square feet](https://www.godownsize.com/how-small-studio-apartment-examples/). A 1-bedroom apartment ranges from around [600-700 square feet](https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-the-typical-1-bedroom-apartment-costs-in-50-us-cities-2016-6), with an [average around 678 square feet](https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-the-typical-1-bedroom-apartment-costs-in-50-us-cities-2016-6). Loki's has a 1-bedroom apartment at 600 square feet, and several other rooms in the working area. 
> 
> Commercial freezers range from the size of a small closet to big enough to park a truck in. For comparison see:
> 
> [12'8"x 16'9" x 11'1"H Kysor-Needham Walk-in Cooler or Freezer](https://www.barrinc.com/product/5178) (210 square feet)
> 
> [17'4" x 26'11" x 10'2"H Bally Walk-in Cooler](https://www.barrinc.com/product/5343) (466 square feet)
> 
> [20' x 30' x 10'4"H Drive-In Freezer](https://www.barrinc.com/product/3754) (600 square feet)


End file.
